by Trish Rudder
As part of the Town of Bath budget overhaul, an additional 1% municipal sales and use tax on sales and services sold inside the town limits of the town took effect on January 1 of this year. 
Businesses inside the town limits are now implementing the added sales tax at registers and in their billing departments. The tax will mean that customers will generally pay a 7% sales tax in businesses in the Town of Bath – the state’s 6% sales tax plus the 1% local tax.
The town council proposed the municipal 1% sales tax through an ordinance to try to fill a $175,000 deficient last year.
On June 18, Councilman Dave O’Connell projected the sales and use tax could bring in $60,000 in 2025.
“Let’s hope its $90,000,” he said during discussions around the proposal.
The ordinance passed and went into effect January 1, 2025.
On a quarterly basis, the earned tax funds will be received from the State Tax Commissioner, said Town of Bath clerk Sharron Corrick, who is the designated tax commissioner for the town.
According to the ordinance that can be viewed on the Town of Bath website, “[F]or the privilege of selling tangible personal property or customer software and for the privilege of furnishing certain selected service, a vendor doing business in the Town of Bath shall collect from the purchaser the taxes imposed by this section [of the ordinance] and pay the amount of taxes collected to the tax commissioner at the same time and in the same manner as the consumers’ sales and service tax imposed by article 15, chapter 11 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, are paid to the tax commissioner,” according to Town ordinance.
“The rate of tax shall be 1% of the sales price, as defined in section 2 of this ordinance of the tangible personal property, custom software, or taxable service purchased or leased,” the ordinance continued.
Town of Bath councilman and ordinance chair Greg Schene, said on Friday that the money from the 1% tax will go back to the town.
“It will be reinvested dollars,” Schene said.
